


all i taste is blood between my teeth

by HeartonFire



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chance Meetings, F/M, First Time, Not Canon Compliant, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-26 07:04:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19763044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartonFire/pseuds/HeartonFire
Summary: An alternate version of Season 2, Episode 1, where Karen and Frank are both taking a break from the city and end up in the same bar in the middle of nowhere.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I rewatched season 2 recently, and I couldn't shake the feeling that if Frank was going to sleep with someone, it would be Karen, not a random (but very nice and extremely pretty) bartender he just met. So, this is my version of that! Enjoy!

“Of all the gin joints…”

Frank turned, ready to snarl at whoever was dumb enough to think they recognized him, but he froze, words unspoken, when he saw the telltale combination of blue eyes and blonde hair that could only belong to one person. She looked a little different, in jeans and a t-shirt instead of a blouse and pencil skirt, but he’d know her anywhere. He couldn’t forget her if he tried.

“Karen.” 

She nodded at the bartender and slid a beer across the counter to him. “Have a drink with me?”

He had never been able to say no to her. He followed her to a table in a dark corner. The crowd was noisy, the band loud enough to cover their voices. No one would hear them.

“What are you doing here?” he said, when his brain caught up to his body. He had ended up in this town on a fluke, part of this road trip Curtis and Lieberman had convinced him to go on. He was supposed to be moving on, moving forward. He was supposed to be leaving the past in the past.

But his past had come to find him. It always did, seemed like.

“I needed a break.”

“Why?” His mind whirred with the possibilities. Karen wasn’t one to leave things unfinished. She wasn’t one to take vacations. She worked until she solved a problem or until she collapsed. He had seen it himself. Something had to be wrong. “What happened?”

She shivered, though the air was stiflingly hot in the bar. “Nothing. Just some things I needed to leave behind for a while.”

“Like?” His nerves prickled. She had never lied to him, never not told him what was going on when he asked. That wasn’t what they did.

“Like Fisk.” She sighed, pushing her hair behind her ear. It was a nervous habit. She hadn’t been nervous around him in a long time, some things didn’t change. “Like Fisk sending an assassin after me and getting a lot of people killed.” She said it like it was nothing, like it was old news.

Frank’s fist clenched against the scarred surface of the table. “What?” His voice was a low rumble, vibrating with rage at the idea of Karen being in danger, and especially from a scumbag like Fisk. He should have killed him when he had the chance. “Why didn’t I know about this?”

“I didn’t exactly have your number,” she said, wry smile on her face. 

A rush of guilt made his heart stutter. “I know, I’m sorry, I just, I couldn’t.”

She laid a hand on his and squeezed. He stared down at it. Her skin was soft, pale in the dim light, cool against him. “I know. It’s okay. I’m okay. I just had to get out of there for a little while. Clear my head, you know?”

Frank grunted and took a long swig of beer. “Yeah, I get that.”

“That why you’re here?” Always the reporter. Her eyes were bright, sharp, just like he remembered. She saw everything, remembered everything. She was good at her job, always had been. But this, this thing between them, it wasn’t a job anymore and he didn’t exactly know what to say. They had never just had a drink together. There was always something else driving them. They could never just _be_.

“Something like that.”

“So, what’s next?”

He shrugged. “Move on, I guess.”

“You ever going back?”

“Are you?”

Karen huffed out a laugh. “Probably.”

“Can’t stay away?” Her hand was still on his. He couldn’t quite focus on anything else.

She leaned closer. “No. Pretty sure you can’t, either.” Her eyes glittered. Frank had almost forgotten how intense those eyes were, this close. 

“You want to leave?” His head was pounding from the music and the alcohol and the scent of her perfume. He couldn’t breathe. 

Something shifted between them, in the space between the table and the door. Frank’s hand hovered over Karen’s lower back. He couldn’t quite touch her, but he wanted to. She had always held a power over him that he couldn’t explain. Time away from her hadn’t weakened that pull. 

“You staying here?” he asked, jerking his head at the motel across the street. 

“Yeah, got their last room. You?”

He nodded. “I’ll walk you back.”

The sounds of the band followed them, muffled against the chilly night air. Karen shivered, and Frank shrugged out of his jacket to put it over her shoulders. He hadn’t even thought about it. She was cold. He could help. That was that.

“Good night, Frank,” she said softly, when they arrived at her room, too soon. She hesitated, hand on the doorknob. She bit her lip and he almost thought she was going to invite him in. He wasn’t sure what he would do if she did. All she did was hand back his coat with a half-smile.

“Night, Karen.” He stepped away from her, turning to go back to his room and fall back into his solitude. A little distance would probably be a good thing, let him get his head on straight.

“Breakfast?” He turned back and studied her face. She was leaning against the door, feigning nonchalance, but he could see the uncertainty in her eyes. It wasn’t an expression he was used to seeing on Karen Page.

“Sure. Diner down the street? Seven?”

“Perfect.” She slipped inside the door and closed it. He could still see the glow of the lights through the curtain when he glanced back, and had to remind himself all the reasons he shouldn’t go right up to her door and knock, beg her to let him in. That wasn’t who they were. Never had been. 

He sank down onto the lumpy mattress, hands behind his head, and stared up at the ceiling. He wasn’t planning to sleep much. Never did, in motel rooms like this, and especially not knowing that Karen was here. Alive, and here, and waiting to talk to him in the morning.

A knock at his door made his instincts jump to life. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, he grabbed his knife and crept towards the door. 

“Frank?” He let out a breath and peeked through the peephole to make sure it was just Karen. She was there, shivering in the dark. He pulled open the door and she stepped back. Her cheeks were flushed. 

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I, uh,” she said, stumbling over her words. That wasn’t like her. She was always good with words. Something had to be wrong.

“Karen?” He felt himself starting to panic, the longer she stood there, not telling him what was going on. She wouldn’t just show up at his door at this time of night for no reason. It didn’t track.

“Can I come in?”

He stood back to let her pass, skin tingling with unease.

“I, uh, didn’t know if I’d ever see you again, you know?” The words were tumbling out of her mouth so fast, Frank almost couldn’t keep up. “After the hotel. I thought you were done. I thought you were out. I had no way to reach you.”

“I know. I’m sorry about that.” 

“No, that’s not what I meant. I just mean, after all this time, what are the odds we’d end up in the same nowhere town in the Midwest?” 

“Not good?” he said, shrugging. She was looking at him like he should understand what she meant, but he was more lost than ever. 

She sighed. “Exactly. The odds were decidedly against us ever crossing paths again. But here we are.”

She took a step closer to him, and Frank’s breath caught. He thought he might be catching on, but he couldn’t even begin to hope that’s what she was getting at. So much had happened to them, together and apart, there was no way she’d want to jump into something with him. That couldn’t be what she meant.

“Frank?”

“Here we are,” he repeated, voice low. “And where is that, Karen?”

“Right here,” she whispered, so close now he could have touched her if he wanted. And he did want to. He had wanted her for a long time, if he was honest. But he couldn’t do that to her. She deserved someone whole, someone good. She deserved so much better than him.

He put out a hand, backing up against the door. “Wait.”

Karen was studying him, that intensity he remembered too well pinning him in place. He was cornered, trapped. There was no way out of facing this. She wasn’t going to let him get away that easy. She never had. 

“Frank.” Her hand was shaking as she held it out to him. Her fingertips brushed his chest and he flinched at the touch, gentle as it was. “Tell me to leave and I’ll go.” He swallowed, pulse racing under her hand. “But only tell me to leave if you really want me to go. Don’t send me away for some ridiculous martyr complex or to keep me safe. I know what I’m getting into. I need you to know too. I need you to be sure.”

Every word he knew had vanished when her fingers made contact with his body. No one had touched him like this, like they trusted him, like they cared for him, like they _wanted_ him, in years. 

“Frank. Please say something.” Karen was blushing, all the way from her forehead, down to the neckline of her shirt. Frank wondered wildly how far down it went. He couldn’t say that. He couldn’t speak. Her hand fell from his chest and she bit her lip. She was about to say something, give him an out, when Frank grabbed her hand.

“Karen.” It was the only word he could think of, the only word that mattered. She was important to him, she was his family, she was everything. She was Karen.

He felt himself lean forward, like his body was taking control now that his mind had completely shut down. Karen disarmed him in a way no one else could. It should have terrified him, but it was too late for that now. He was moving towards her and she wasn’t shying away.

His lips found hers and she softened against him with a sigh, arms winding around his neck as her tongue pressed into his mouth. He was clutching at her waist, pawing at her clothes like some hormone-crazy teenager. He needed to slow down, but he wasn’t in control anymore. He couldn’t be. Not with her.

He nudged her backward, towards the bed. She followed his lead, letting out a tiny squeak when her knees hit the mattress. She bent them and pushed herself up the bed to lean against the pillows.

Frank stayed where he was, just for a moment, breathing hard. Her hair was messy, lips pink and shiny, and she was waiting for him. This wasn’t his life. This couldn’t be real. He couldn’t have this. He couldn’t have her. He had accepted that a long time ago.

“Frank.” She held out her arms and Frank moved to the side of the bed, sinking down onto the mattress, hands tight on his knees.

He felt Karen’s hand on his back, light but sure, tracing circles against his spine with her fingernails.

“Hey,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Frank. We don’t have to rush this.”

He closed his eyes, let the sensation of her touch soothe his frayed nerves. He could breathe again. He could do this. He wanted to do this, with her.

“No.” It came out rough, harsher than he meant. “You’re right.”  
“We can just watch TV or something. Just sleep.”

He smiled. Karen was so good, so genuinely kind. He had never understood what she saw in him, how she could see past all the bad he did to find some good inside him. He wasn’t even sure that goodness existed sometimes, but Karen was always sure, and that settled him. It was now or never.

“No, I mean you’re right. The odds have always been against us, and we shouldn’t let tonight go to waste.” He turned his head and kissed her again, gentler this time. He tugged her into his lap, holding her as close as he could. She was warm, and soft, and she smelled so good, felt so good in his arms. 

It didn’t take long for the kiss to deepen, all tongues and teeth and sighing moans that drove all Frank’s blood straight to his groin. He laid Karen back against the pillows, trailing a line of wet kisses down her neck. She arched into him, humming with pleasure as she murmured his name.

Her hands found the hem of his shirt and she tugged it off, over his head, fingertips tracing over his scars. He shivered and she pulled him up to kiss her again.

“Are you sure?” she asked him, blue eyes nearly black with desire.

“Yes.” He was. The fears that haunted him subsided, just enough. He was safe, with Karen. He could do this. He wanted to do this. He was finally ready. “Are you?”

She grinned and kissed him again, pushing him over, onto his back. She pulled up her shirt, revealing each inch of her skin slowly, until her shirt had joined his on the floor. His hands fell to her waist. He could feel her breathing, the rapid pulse under her skin. His thumb traced the edge of her bra, soft cotton that was somehow sexier than all the lingerie in the world, because it was on her. Karen reached behind her and unhooked it. She tossed it to the side and leaned down to kiss him again. Her skin against his was too much. His skin felt like it was on fire. He wanted to touch all of her, see all of her.

He fumbled with her jeans, but they were too tight and she pushed off him, laughing a little.

“That’s what I get for wearing skinny jeans.” She stripped them off, leaving her panties on, and knelt beside him, tugging at his belt and his fly until he was down to nothing but his boxer-briefs.

He was so hard it was starting to hurt, but he needed her to be ready. He needed her to enjoy this, or there was no point. All his senses felt heightened, like this wasn’t quite real.

But she was real, and she wanted him, all her murmured words merging together in his ears. His hand whispered along her belly, and he heard her gasp. His fingers dipped into her panties and the gasp turned into a long, low moan. She was so wet, so slick, so ready, and he’d hardly even touched her yet.

“Please, Frank,” she whined, pulling him closer, palming at his length. He hissed and she grinned again. “Please.”

“I don’t have anything,” he mumbled, reality rushing back to him. “We can’t.”

Karen held up a finger and crouched down beside the bed. When she stood again, she had a foil packet in her hand. “I like to be prepared.”

“Come here.” She handed it to him and he shucked off his underwear to roll it on. He hooked his thumbs into Karen’s panties and tugged them down, pressing kisses to her thighs, her knees, her ankles as he went. He wanted to take his time, learn her, inch by inch, but he couldn’t hold back much longer. Now that he could be with her, like this, he didn’t want to wait anymore. 

Karen reached for him again, guiding him to her entrance. She didn’t want to wait either. He slid inside with a groan. It felt _good_ to feel her under him, clenching around him. He hadn’t felt anything this good in a long time.

She locked her legs around him and he started to move. He kissed her again, her mouth opening to his instantly, her tongue finding his. She clutched at him, like she was as afraid of losing him as he was of losing her. It had taken a long time for them to get here. He wasn’t going to waste this. He wasn’t going to take her for granted. He couldn’t.

He could feel his climax building quickly, but he couldn’t let go yet. He flipped them over, and Karen ground against him. He could feel her thighs clenching around him, her walls pulsing, and he knew she was close as her hips kept circling. Her fingernails bit into the skin of his chest as she came with a cry.

Breathing hard, she sank against him, and he let her catch her breath before he moved again, the slick, wet sounds of their bodies meeting, and the feeling of Karen around him and on top of him driving him over the edge with a grunt.

Karen kissed his cheek, his forehead, his nose, his chin, before rolling off him and letting him get up to clean himself up a little.

Frank leaned against the sink in the tiny bathroom, heart still racing. There was no going back now. This changed everything and he needed to figure out exactly what that meant.

By the time he was able to go back into the room, Karen was asleep, curled up under the blanket. Frank slid under it with her, pulling her closer with one arm. She was warm against him, and he could feel her breathing, slow and deep. It lulled him to sleep faster than he expected. For the first time in years, he didn’t dream.


	2. Chapter 2

Frank woke in the morning, and the world hadn’t ended. His arm was still wrapped around Karen and he could feel her heart thumping in her chest. She was alive, and so was he, and they had finally taken a step he had always been sure would be too far, too much.

It was and it wasn’t. Frank couldn’t help feeling that something was coming, something bad. A shadow lurked on the horizon. He didn’t know what it was, but he wasn’t going to let anything happen to Karen. He wouldn’t before, and he certainly wouldn’t now.

“You awake?” 

He just grunted, and Karen turned to face him, blue eyes shining in the morning light. She bit her lip, and he saw the question in her eyes. He pressed his lips to hers, just to see if he still could, and she melted against him.

“Breakfast?” he mumbled, and she laughed a little.

“Sure.”

Neither of them moved for a long moment. Frank wasn’t sure he ever wanted to move again. If he could stay here, with Karen in his arms, he could be happy. They could find happiness, together. It was possible. They were out of the city, they were safe. They could keep driving, see the country. He couldn’t lose anyone else. He couldn’t lose her. He wouldn’t.

They finally managed to get up, after a few more slow kisses that made Frank question how much he wanted breakfast after all. Karen’s stomach rumbled loud enough for Frank to hear it, and he dragged himself away from her, pulling her to her feet beside him. They pulled on some clothes, and Frank tossed Karen a sweatshirt. It was too big on her, and it fell off her shoulders every time she moved, but she snuggled into it and took his hand to walk to the diner down the street.

The last time they were in a diner, things had been very different. He had known, even then, that she was different, that she was important. He never had figured out what Murdock lied to her about, aside from the obvious, but it had torn her apart. He wouldn’t do that to her. Not again. Never again.

“You still here?” Karen asked, tilting her head to the side as she put her mug of coffee down.

“Yeah. Sorry. Just thinking.”

“About?” She had never let him off the hook. Not even when she first met him. She had never been afraid of him, never needed to be. 

“You.”

She smiled, ducking her head. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Frank cleared his throat. “So, you sticking around here?”

Karen blinked at him. “What?”

“I don’t know, the bartender mentioned a band coming into town. Might stay and check it out.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want me to stay?”

His heart thudded in his chest. Even after everything, it was hard to get the words out.

“Frank?”

“Yes.”

She smiled, and Frank swore it was like looking straight into the sun. He had so rarely seen her smile. He wanted to see it more often. “Then, I’ll stay.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

They walked back after breakfast. Karen took his hand again. He paused outside his room. He was half-tempted to ask her to come in, but that felt like a step too far. She didn’t let go. He couldn’t look at her. He was afraid to screw this up.

“I’m staying, Frank.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m choosing you.”

He finally managed to meet her eyes, those eyes that broke him apart and put him back together every time he looked at them.

“You sure?” She knew him. He knew that. It was different, though, knowing him and choosing him like this. He couldn’t ask her to throw everything away for him. They had crossed a line, but there was still time for her to go back, if she wanted. He couldn’t make her stay. He couldn’t ask that of her.

“Frank.” She was looking at him like she could read his mind. He sometimes wondered if she could. It honestly wouldn’t surprise him. “Yes, I’m sure. Are you?”

It was a ridiculous question. He had chosen her from the beginning, since she shoved that photo of his family in his face and crossed the red line, fire blazing out of her with a heat he could almost feel. He had chosen her even when he pushed her away. He had chosen her every time he heard her name. He hadn’t even realized he was choosing until it was too late.

“Yes,” he managed to choke out. It wasn’t enough, it didn’t even come close to what he wanted to say to her, what he needed to tell her. She was everything to him, and he was in this, all the way.

“Let me get my stuff. I’ll be right back.”

Frank was frozen. He watched her go to the end of the row and disappear for a moment. His brain was finally catching up to what she was saying, what she was really saying, and that fear in the back of his mind prickled again. He shook it away. She was choosing this. He couldn’t deny her. He wouldn’t dare try.

He was still there when she came back, bags in hand. “Is this okay?”

He nodded and let her into the room. She set her bags down and turned to him. She was in front of him before he could blink, hands cradling his face. She was so gentle, so soft when she touched him. She could break him without even trying.

“I missed you,” she breathed. 

Frank leaned his forehead against hers, breathed with her for a long moment. It still felt like a dream, and he was afraid to wake up. Afraid to face the reality of the world he lived in, the world they both lived in. For now, he could breathe with her. Be with her.

“I missed you, too.” 

He kissed her. He could do that now, just because he wanted to. That was the hardest part to really get. He had wanted this for so long, wondered about it, wished for it, and now he could just do it, without wondering how Karen felt or what she would think or if she would push him away.

She pulled him closer, fingers clutching at his shirt as she tugged him down to the bed. Her legs tangled with his and he groaned at the feeling of her against him. They had time. They could take their time.

His hands traced her ribs, pushing her shirt up as slowly as he could manage. Karen smiled up at him, fingernails scraping against his scalp. Frank lowered his head to kiss her stomach, her bellybutton, her hip bone. Karen reached for her shirt and pulled it off, over her head, still watching him as he explored her body.

She was so beautiful, laying there beneath him, he couldn’t do anything but stare for a long moment. He couldn’t have this. He couldn’t have her. That wasn’t how this worked.

“Come here, Frank,” she whispered, and pulled him into her arms again. “Just lay with me.”

He could feel her breathing, hear his heart pounding in his ears, smell her shampoo. He closed his eyes and trailed his hands over her soft skin, drawing circles on her body. It soothed him. She soothed him.

They must have fallen asleep, because when his eyes opened, Frank could see the light was dim outside. He hadn’t slept this well in a long time. He had needed it. He had needed her.

Karen was still napping, eyelashes long and dark against her cheeks, chest rising and falling slowly while she slept.

He tried to get up without waking her, but he couldn’t help but let his hands skim over her waist as he stood. Her eyes fluttered open and she blinked up at him.

“Where are you going?”

“Thought we could use some dinner.”

She looked around as she sat up. “Yeah, I guess we could. Guess we could check out that band, too.”

Frank smiled and pulled her to her feet. She tugged her shirt back on and took his hand to walk across the street.

The band was setting up as they walked in, and the bartender nodded at them as they came in. It was already pretty crowded, but Frank couldn’t help but notice a teenage girl, sitting at the bar, hunched over, eyes wide as she scanned the room. Her hair was frizzy and wild, and she looked like she might be wearing all the clothes she owned.

“Hey, are you okay?” Karen was already at the girl’s side. Of course, she had spotted her instantly. She always knew who needed her most. She couldn’t help herself.

“Yeah,” the girl said, rolling her eyes, but she still looked wary. She looked like a trapped animal.

“Come on, leave the kid alone.” Frank put an arm around her and led her away. No need to spook the kid. He would keep an eye on her, all the same.

“Alright.” Karen threw her hands up and turned to the bartender. “Beer, please. And a menu.”

“Make that two.”

Frank threw some bills down on the counter and the band started to play. Karen leaned against him, swaying with the beat. It felt normal. It felt right. It felt like home.

He wrapped an arm around her, holding her close. The beer was cold, the food was greasy, and he couldn’t think of any place he’d rather be. 

That girl kept drawing his eye, though. She was shifting her weight, glancing around the bar, hardly even listening to the music. She was waiting for someone.

When she sat up straight, Frank tensed. Karen looked at him curiously, but followed his eyeline wordlessly and nodded. The girl was making a beeline for the bathroom, and a group of people who looked pretty damn menacing was right behind her. Frank pushed away from the bar and followed them.

Her had nothing on him. All his guns and knives, everything, was back in the hotel room. He hadn’t felt right, arming himself, after what had happened between Karen and him. Strapping his weapons to his body felt too much like his old life, and he desperately wanted this after to be different. But now, he wished he had _something_. 

Heart pounding in his ears, he headed towards the bathroom. There was a man blocking the doorway, arms folded.

“Hey, my, uh, my friend just went in there.”

“So?”

“So, she wasn’t feeling well, and I wanted to see if she was okay.”

“Think she must have left, buddy.”

Frank heard a thud and snapped. Weapons or not, he was getting into that bathroom. He couldn’t let them go after some scared kid and not do anything about it. He just couldn’t. He headbutted the guy and threw him to the side, slamming the door open.

He scanned the room quickly and saw the kid, cowering by the far wall, as two women closed in on her. At least Karen was out of the line of fire. He needed to focus on these two, then get them all the hell out of here.

He subdued one before they even realized he was in the room, but the other had a gun, and he needed to be careful, if he was going to get them out of this alive. Holding his hands up, he gestured to the girl to leave and took a step towards the one with the gun, moving to give the girl an open escape route..

“No. She stays.” He saw the woman’s finger tighten on the trigger and waited for the shot.

The door to the bathroom opened behind him, and he glanced over to see Karen, .380 in hand, coming to help. The woman whirled towards her and Frank heard the bang, but it was hollow, echoing, like it was in slow motion. He didn’t see the bullet hit her. He just saw Karen fall.

With a roar, he tackled the woman, knocking the gun away and punching her until she stopped moving. The girl was still against the wall, hands over her mouth as she sobbed. Looking down, he saw the bloody pulp of the woman’s face and felt nothing but rage and fear and that awful, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach he knew too well.

“Frank,” Karen whispered, and it snapped him back to himself. She was reaching for him, hands scarlet and bloody.

He crawled to her, holding back an unholy scream that threatened to rip through his chest at any moment. Not again. He couldn’t do this again. Not with Karen.

“Karen, let me see.” His hands felt like mitts, clumsy and unsure, as he touched the wet cloth of her shirt. He lifted it and saw that the bullet had slammed into her shoulder, leaving a pulsing hole that was leaking blood with every heartbeat.

He tore his own shirt and pressed it to the wound. “Hold that there, okay?”

She nodded weakly and he lifted her, as gently as he could. She hissed in pain and he knew he had to move quickly.

“Hey, kid. Let’s go.”

“What? I’m not going with you. You’re crazy.”

He saw red. He didn’t have time for this. “Listen, those people, whoever they are, they’re going to come back. You think I don’t know what it looks like to be on the run from something? I’m not waiting around, so unless you want to be on your own when they get back, come with us. Now.”

She stood, a little shakily, and followed him out. He managed to get Karen through the crowd and out to the truck without anyone noticing, though he did hear a shout as they left. Someone must have found the bodies in the bathroom. They were alive, as far as he knew, but that wasn’t great for his cover. Madani was going to be furious.

He raced to the hospital, following the kid’s directions, but it took longer than he had hoped. He kept talking to Karen the whole time, made sure she was awake. She had to stay awake. He couldn’t lose her. She was so strong, so brave, and she was hurt. He had let his guard down for a second, and Karen got hurt, trying to protect him. She might have chosen him, but she deserved more than this. She deserved more than fights and bruises and gunshot wounds. 

By the time they got to the hospital, Frank had made his choice. She would be safe here. They could help her. He couldn’t. He swung into a spot next to an ambulance and yelled for help. Two paramedics ran out and got Karen onto a stretcher. He squeezed her hand.

“I’ll come back for you. I promise.”

“Frank.” The look in her eyes was almost enough to change his mind, but he couldn’t do that. He had to get away from her. He had to protect her. It wasn’t safe for him to be here, after what had happened. She shouldn’t be anywhere near him. 

“Please, Karen. Let me go.”

“Frank.” She said his name one more time and then she was gone, vanished behind the double doors.

“Let’s go, kid.”

He drove away as fast as he could manage. He had to put it behind him, push it away, move forward into what he was meant to be. She couldn’t be part of that. He couldn’t let her.

He would take the kid, figure out what the hell was going on, and come back, if Karen was even still here. He would explain everything then.

But for now, he was on his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Kudos and comments are so incredibly appreciated. 
> 
> I may add more later, but this is it for now. Frank and Karen can't always get a happy ending, and I like to think that this alternate version adds a little extra tension to the hospital scene, so there's that. Not much smut in this chapter, but smut week is coming, so there will be plenty more smut, fluff, and angst coming your way soon. ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I have another chapter I'm working on for this, but I hope you enjoyed this canon divergence! Kudos and comments are so lovely and always appreciated! <3


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